Top gluer



to devices of "s'rAras PATENT; *or-rica man La Bomann, or CHELSEA, `man MELviN n. ammo, or cameron-r naar', ssacrmsia'rrs, nssIeNons To SPECIALTY AUTOMATIC MAcHINE coureur, or CHELSEA, -mAssAcnUsETTs a conromfrron or Massacnuy, saTTs. l

Maase; v

tain new and useful Improvements in Top,

Gluers, of which the following is a specification.

r1his invention relates to devices for applying an adhesive substance, hereinafter referred to generically/as glue, to articles such as foldable paper or pasteboard blanks, and the invention has particular reference this character which are mounted as attachmentsto box folding machines to supply stripes or bands of glue to surfacerportions of blanks whilethe latter are on their way from a feeding mechanism to folding mechanism. Such devices usually` employ a thin wheel or diskto apply the glue to the passing blanks, and in they majority of machines -the blanks are carried over the glue wheel or disk so Jthat a stripe of glue is applied to the under surface of each blank. As will be readily understood the construction` of a practical'gluer having the upper portion of its wheel exposed to apply glue to the under surfaces ofblanks passlng -overit presents noproblem that 1s difficult tosolve. This is because it islantirely feasible to have an ample portion of the wheel revolve in al body of glue inabox and employ a scraper to remove excess of lue from the wheel. ,',But when a machine i 1s to be constructed .to operate on blanks top gluers becausethe `which require the.l application of gluevvto .upper surface portions thereof, a serious problem arises as to how to keep a wheel properly supplied with glue so that itsperlphery will transferthe right amount, and onl the right` amount, to blanks .passing un er it. Attempts have been made to rovide devicesof this kind and they are ca led coat or stri e top surfaces instead of un er surfaces o passing articles. So far as we are aware such attem 'ts have not proved entirely satisfactory for several reasons such as failure to prevent leakage of glue and inability of the wheel or disk to perform uniform work on the blanks.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led February 6, 1920. Serial No. 856,703.

The object of the present invention is to provlde a simple and reliable device having a rotary applier to which an easily controlledsupply. of glue can be furnished and maintained without leakage, and yet permit the lowermost portion of said applier to be.

ex ose d vforcontact with articles passing be ow 1t. Several features of novelty which constitute our invention contribute singly or jointly in attaining said objects,and said features will now be described. and then polntedv4 out inthe appended claims.

Of thel accompanying drawings:

Flgure 1 is a perspective view of the ent1re top gluer. o l

Figure 2vrepresents a detail section omitt1ng some parts. 'my

Figure 3 represents a detail` section at a right angle to Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a broken out detail perspective view. p

vFigure 5 isa perspective view of the lower end of the glue pot or reservoir.

VFigure 6 is a detail sectional elevation to illustrate howv the control of the film of glue on the wheel 'is' effected. f

Similar reference characters designate similar parts in all ofthe views.

The support for thev device consistsfof'a" column or post 12 which is fixed in position inw that part of a machine which kis best suited ,to accommodate the gluer. lt isl to be understood that in a machine for making flat folded boxes the post and gluer are located lso lthat the disk or wheel 13-thereof willapply a stripe or line of glue to the top surface ofieach of a succession of'blanks carr1ed from: lthe feeder to the vfolding mechanism 1n Kthe direction of the arrow a in Figure 1 and in a fplane tangential to thc lowermost portion .o the periphery of ythe dlsk. Sald wheel13; is carried by a shaft 14 mounted in a bearlng'provided in a split block 15" having a sleeve portion fitting the ing chain 17 engaging a sprocket 18 fixed to the shaft.v y

A bracket 19v having a split sleeve portion fitting the post 12 below the block 15 is adjustably secured to the post by a clamp screw 20. -The outer end of the bracket (Figs. 2 and 3) is formed to provide a bearing 21 for a pintle 22. A shallow cup 23 has two ears 24: which extend .past the ends` of the bearing 21. through the ears 24 and is held by one or more screws 25. The structure just described provides a hinge connection between the cup and bracket w ich, while providing for separation by removing the pintle when the cup is to be cleaned, holds the cup steadily in use.` The reason for the hinge connection will be presently explained.

At substantially the center of the bottom of the cup 23 is a screw threaded recess26 to receive a screw stem 27 projecting down from the bottom of the glue ot or reservoir 28 which vis air tight except or one or more holes 29 in its bottom. Rotatable on the screw stem 27 is the hub 30 of a strip 31 (Fig. 5), said strip being held close to the bottom of the reservoir by a screw 32 (Fio. 3) entering an annular groove in stem 2 The strip is provided with one or more upturned ears 33, either one of which may be grasped as a handle to turn the strip one way or the other on the stem 27 to'open or close the holes 29. Projecting down -from the bottom of the reservoir is a sto lug 34 (Fig. 5) in such position that w en one portion of one edge of the valve 'stri 31 contacts with the lug the holes will be c osed and when another portion of the same edge contacts with the lug the holes will be uncovered. y

Attached to one side of the cup 23, preferably by screws 35 so it can be removed for cleaning (Figs. 2 and 4) is a narrow trough 36, the adjoining walls of the cup and trough being cut away so glue in the cup ma flow into the trou h. Secured to one en of the trough is a sotted gage 37 which so closel fits the sides of the disk 13 that glue wil not esca e freely between the gage and the disk. en thedisk rotates however sufiicient glue is carried out by its periphery to suppl the necessary adhesive to a blank fed by t e usual belts, not necessary to illustrate, in a path or plane just below the bottom of the trough.

Owing tov the fact that the slot in the ga e 37 closely fits the sides of the disk, an thatsaid slot is in an upright wall of the trough, and that the glue in the trough is automatically limited to a depth which cannot exert such pressure outwardly as to cause glue to be carried out on the sides of the disk, the width of the stripe of glue transmitted to passin blanks' is rendered reliably uniform, an said stripe is free c from thick edges. In other words the 'stripe of glue transmitted to the blanks is practically uniform in thickness as lwell as in width and-consequently is not liable to be The pintle passes 1 unduly broadened by the pressure which is later exerted on the blanks while they are being folded and converted into boxes. T he thickness of the film of glue carried `out on the periphery of the disk is controlled by the distance of the kbottom of the slot in vto carry out the desired amount of glue.

Another means for effecting a variation in the space between the bottom of the slot and the periphery of the disk for the purpose just mentioned, consists in the inde# pendent mounting of the block 15 and the bracket 19 on the post 12 (Fig. 2) so that either can be Avertically adjusted as hereinbefore described. By the employment of the screw 38 however, a finer adjustment can be effected.

When the device is tol be employed, the glue pot is removed and reversed and filled through one of the holes. Then the valve strip 31 is turned to close both holes 29 and the pot is set in the position shown in Figure 3 by securing its screw 27 in the cup recess 26. Upon then swinging the strip 31 by means of one of its ears 33 so as to uncover the holes 29, glue will flow out into the cup and the trough to the levelof vthe bottom of the pot when, no more air being admitted to the ot, the outflow of the glue" will cease. s` the general principle of similar devices for preserving a liquid at a certain boxes, is not a readily flowlno` liquid.

aonslstency is such that the disk 13 is able.

to serve as a' dam for the slotted exit in the gage 37. Exudation of the glue is prevented from being faster than it is drawn out by the periphery of the revolving disk. This 1s because there is no material pressure of glue seeking to escape through the slot of the ga e. Such would not be the case however i the glue were subject to the pressure of a bodv'of glue extending to a considerable height so as to tend to force glue out onto the sides of the disk. To permit the disk to serve the double urpose of an applier anda dam is the chief reason for tol a limited amount of glue to said hol Maase? v i employing the shallow trough 36 and means for limiting the depth of glue in `said trough.

When the machine employing the gluer is stopped or is about to be stopped, the strip 31 will be turned to close the holes 29. After this the reservoir can be removed for filling, or to facilitate access to the other separable parts for cleaning. I the machine is simpl; to be sto pcd for a time and there is suc a space etween the edge of the disk and the bottom of the slot in the gage as would permit glue to exude, that space can be entirely closed by operating the screw 38` to crowd the bottom of said slot close to the edge of the disk.

To enable the machine to be started at any time, without delay even if glue has hardened on the sides of the disk 13, we providel a sharp-edged scraper 39cm each side of the disk. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated these Scrapers are provided by vertically grooving the inner face of the gage 37 the side of each groove nearest the disk being bevelled to provide a form of knife edge close to the disk. Therefore when the disk revolves in the direction ci the arrows in Figs. 1 and 4, glue removed by the knife-edge Scrapers 39 Hows down the grooves, and if that glue is hardened it mingles with glue in the trough and is softened. lt is to be understood that if the glue is of a kind which requires heat to make it mobile, any suitable means will be provided to heat the pan and trough.

' Having now described our invention, we claim:

1. A device of the character described comprising a glue holder having a lslotted end wall, means for continuously supplying' a limited amount of glue to said holder, an

a rotary applier a portion of which substan-A tially fills the slot of said wall, means being provided for preventing glue from being carried out of the holder on the sides of the applier.

2. A device of the character described comprising a glue holder having a slotted end wall, means for continuously su plying er, and

- a rotary applier a portion of which substantially fills the slot of said wall, another portion of the applier extending to a plane below the plane ofthe bottom of the holder, means being provided for preventing glue from being` carried out of the holder on the sides of the applier.

3. device of the character described comprising a glue trough having a slotted end wall, means for continuously supplying a limitedI amount ofglue to said trough,

and a rotary disk a portion of which extends into the slot of the wall, sa1d disk being mounted relatively to the trough Vbottom of the trough,

to present its lower portionbelow tom of the trough.

4. AA device of the character described comprising a glue trough having a slotted end wall, means for continuously supplyin a limited amount of glue to said trough, and a rotary disk a portion of which extends into the slot of the Wall, said disk being mounted relativelyto the trough to present its lower portion below the plane of the bottom of the trough, means being provided to kee the trough supplied with glue to a pre etermined level.

5. A device of the character described comprising a glue trough having a slotted the plane of the bot- -end wall, means for continuously suppl-ying a limited amount of glue to said trough, a rotary disk a portion of which extends into the slot of the wall, saidl disk being mounted relatively to the trough to present its lower portion below the ,plane of the and means for adjustipg the relative positions of themdisk and s ot.

6. A device of the character described comprising an upright, a glue trough adjustablv mounted on said u right, and a rotary glue applier adjustablyfmounted on the upright independently of the trou h.

7. A device of the character describe comprising a rigid upright, two brackets ad` justably mounted-one above the other on said upright, a rotary disk carried by one4 bracket, and means carried by the other bracket for supplying the disk with glue.

8. A' device of the character described comprising a rigid upright, two brackets ad- ]ustably mounted one above the other on said upright, a rotary disk carried by one bracket, a trough for supplyin glue to the disk pivotally connected with the other bracket, and means for adjusting said trough.

9. A device of the character described comprising a cup, a trough having a slot in one end wall, said. trough communicating with the cup, a rotary disk partially located in and closely fitting said slot, and.v means for adjusting the relative vertical'positions kof the trough and disk to. vary between the bottom of said slotv and the periphery ofthe disk. p

`10. A device of the character 'described comprisin a cup, a trough having a slot in one en wall, said trough communicatin with the cup, a rotary disk partially locate in and closely fitting said slot, and means for supplying the cu a predetermined evel.

11.- A device ot the character described comprising a cup, a trough having a slot in the spaceI and trough with glue to..

mounted in said cup, said reservoir having an opening in its bottom and being otherwise air-tight.

l2. A device of the character described comprising a cup, a trough havinga slot in one wall, said trough communicating with the cup., a rotary disk partially located in said slot, and a glue reservoir removably mounted in said cup, said reservoir having an opening in its bottom and being otherwise air-ti ht, a manually operable -valve being provi ed for said openlng.

13. A device of the character described comprising a cup, a trough removably connected thereto and communicating therewith, said trough having a slot in its end wall, arotary disk partially located in and closely fitting said slot and mounted to present its lower edge below the plane'of the bottom of the trough, and means for supplying the cu and trough with glue to a predetermined) level.

14. A device of the character described comprising a hingedly supported cup, means' 'gins of the slot, and a rotary app 1er a portion of which substantially fills said slot.-

16. A device of the character described comprising a glue holder having a slotted vertical Wall and formed with grooves adjacent the sides of the slot, the sides of the grooves being bevelled toward said slot to 4form knife-edge Scrapers, and a `rotary applier traversing said slot.

In testimony whereof we have aiixed our signatures.

LEON E. LA BOMBARD. MELVIN H. SIDEBOTHAM. 

